For Your Safety
by Liberty Roth
Summary: Ten years after the end of the war, the Gaang reunites to relocate Zuko after multiple attempts on his life are made. They move him to the Beifong household with Toph, while the others work on pursuing the would-be assassins. Sukka, Kataang, Toko.


Sorry I've been sort of MIA for a couple months. I've occasionally submitted a new chapter and whatnot, but 's been pushed to the back of my mind as I focus on my own book that I'm writing, dolling, and school. Hopefully this summer I'll be able to catch up and give you guys some well-deserved fan fiction. I really want to finish my stories and upload new chapters to 100 Themes Challenge stories.

To keep up to date on what I'm doing, go to enchantedd dot deviantart dot com.

* * *

_The blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling __safe__ with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away._

Dinah Craik, _A Life for a Life_

* * *

Holding a piece of parchment between his thumb and forefinger, creases appeared on the young Avatar's face. Though only twenty-two, the worry lines erupting on his forehead were aging him, as were the crow-monkey's feet near his eyes. The world was a heavy burden. And he was just beginning to fathom what being the Avatar entailed. Peace, it seemed, was temporary. He had been hell-bent on ending the world and letting war extinguish itself in the following months, a goal he had achieved with help from many wonderful people.

What he hadn't seen coming were the outbreaks of violence.

The Fire Lord's letter was formal in its opening.

_Avatar Aang;_

_Your presence in the Fire Palace is requested as soon as possible. Set up arrangements for your temples, in case your visit requires an extended stay. Similar invitations have been sent out to the chief and ambassador of the Southern Water tribe, the daughter of the BeiFong family, and the head of the Kyoshi Warriors._

_Thank you for your haste. Please send word if you require additional security on your journey._

_Fire Lord Zuko_

Katara appeared in Aang's doorway, holding a similar letter of her own. Her expression wasn't nearly as somber as her husband's. In fact, an amused look called her dark skin home. "I don't think Zuko wrote this," she decided, folding her letter in half. She casually tossed it onto the table in their room, before sitting next to Aang on the bed. "It's too stiff. Even for him."

"Yeah…" Aang agreed softly, brushing a thumb over the ink he imagined a servant had scrawled. "I just hope we're not going to meet any violence along the way. The way Zuko said it made it sound like… he was expecting someone to ambush us."

She frowned, pulling the letter from his hands softly. "Aang," she said quietly, replacing the letter with her smooth hands. "There will _always _be people who aren't happy with the way things are. You have to expect people who don't see eye to eye with each other."

He squeezed his eyes shut. "I know," he assured her, his voice a whisper. "I just don't understand why they have to do it _now. _Everyone worked _so hard_, Katara, _so hard _to make the world a better place. We finally did it and then a decade later everything is falling to pieces."

His tattooed hand traveled upward to brush her cheek, gliding across the lines near her mouth. "These lines weren't here before. See what the world has done to you?"

Her hand rested on top of his, pulling it away from her skin. "It's not the world that has done this," she argued quietly. "The world is a chaotic place right now, yes. They've experienced war for so long; I imagine some people don't know anything else. But these lines are not from the world, Aang. They are from _you_. I worry about you. You don't have to do everything alone. Tell me what you're thinking."

A smile spread across his face. He turned, burying his head into her shoulder. "I'm thinking about how long of a journey this will be. I'm not used to taking my time to get somewhere. I remember Sokka's battle schedule and how rushed we were. This seems like a vacation in comparison." Aang sighed, his nose skimming across the skin near her neck.

"Yes," she agreed quietly. She reclined onto the bed, pulling him down with her. "It will be a long journey. I think Appa is enthusiastic about it, at least. How long has it been since he's been able to spread his spit all over our favorite Fire Lord?"

Aang laughed, his lips brushing over his wife's warm skin. "Too long," he agreed. He pulled the blankets over the beautiful woman next to him, an arm around her shoulders. "We should get some sleep. Our last night in our bed. I'm not looking forward to sleeping on an inn's hard bed."

It turned out that the bed that their Fire Lord friend had reserved for them were anything but hard. _Lavish _was a bit of an understatement. Their first night at an inn, all it took was a quick survey of the room to see that Zuko wanted them to be well-taken care of.

On their first night, at their first stop, Aang and Katara stayed silent. Both of their stomachs were turning and flopping, nervous for some unknown reason. Well. _Unknown _wasn't the word. Aang knew the questions he wanted to ask Katara about Zuko, but he was sure that he should just stay silent. If he opened his mouth to gain reassurance about their relationship, he felt he would simultaneously be opening a passage to an angry argument.

Katara carefully brushed her thick brown hair several times, staring at her reflection in the bowl of water before her. Aang sat on the edge of their rented bed, pulling his shoes off. They remained silent, neither of them wanting to take the first step to some long-awaited truths.

The second night at an inn was different. As soon as they were in the door, Katara had just started to remark on the quality of their room when Aang interrupted her speech.

"Katara," he said, using the authoritative voice he had hardly had to use the past couple of years. Katara froze in her steps, her head swiveling towards her husband. She looked almost guilty, as if she had sensed what talk was coming on. His next sentence was a whisper. "I need to know."

"I…" she began, sighing. This talk had been long postponed. It was almost a relief. Almost. If she didn't know that this talk would end up hurting them both, that was. "Alright. Go ahead and ask. But… promise me, this will not change th-"

He smiled slightly, moving closer to her. It was strange, the way he used to be so much shorter than she. But now he towered over her, the masculine angles of his face holding no traces of the roundness that had been there ten years ago. "_Nothing,_" he assured her softly, his fingertips brushing across her cheeks. "Will _ever _change the way I feel about you, Katara. Nothing."

She nodded, reaching to press his palms against the skin of her face. "Alright," she said, taking a breath. "Zuko and I… I'm not going to pretend I didn't think about it. He did, too. A lot more than I did, even when he was with Mai after the war ended. But, when it came down to something- some_one_- as unstable as Zuko… he was always all over the place, making plans with me and then canceling them the next day because of a Fire Lord duty. Whoever he needs, it's not me, Aang. I promise you."

He smiled, pulling her palm to his lips. "That's all I needed to hear."

* * *

_When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway._

Erma Bombeck

* * *

"Toph, I don't understand why you're refusing to pack the white dress. It's perfectly lovely and has a nice texture to it. You look so beautiful in it, too, dear, with your hair so black and the dress so clean…" Toph's mother sighed, tucking a long strand of inky hair behind her daughter's ear. Toph knocked her mother's hand away impatiently, tearing around the room in a Toph-sized tornado.

"Mom, I don't want to show up looking like a doll," she muttered, the stone drawers of her dresser sliding open with a flick of her wrist. Though once entirely wood, when she returned home from the war she had replaced them immediately. It was convenient this way. She could make her clothes launch at her, so getting dressed took mere seconds. "It's been nearly ten years. Things haven't changed. Don't want them to."

Poppy sighed again, sitting down on the corner of her daughter's bed. Her temples were streaked with white now, something that she was grateful Toph couldn't see. "Things change, Toph," she reminded her softly. "People change. I don't want you to get your hopes up too high. It's been ten years. Things… may not be the way you remember, dear."

No. She hated hearing that. "Don't say that," Toph halfway begged, tossing outfit after outfit out of her dresser. Things couldn't change. She had been alone, rarely visited, for these past ten years. She supposed it was easy for them to forget her, tucked away like this. But she would show up with a grand entrance, making _sure _they wouldn't forget her again. "Things don't change! It'll be the same, Mom. Where is my…?"

She trailed off, searching for her Blind Bandit outfit. When she finally found it, she let out a triumphant yell complete with a fist pumping the air. "I found it! I need to pack this. And underclothes. But that's all, okay? Maybe that Fire Nation disguise I wore, too…" The petite woman rummaged through the drawers again, oblivious of her mother's stare.

"Toph."

Her milky eyes settled on the wall behind her mother. "Huh?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

Her mother stood, taking her daughter's hands and pulling them away from her chest. "These clothes will not fit you," she reminded her softly. "You've grown in the past ten years. I know how much you want to wear them. But they _will not fit. _Go and get the tailor to make you new ones or pack one of the-"

"Why not?" Toph cut her mother off, a strange tone to her voice. It was almost a little… desperate? "Why won't they fit? I'm not any taller than I was when I was twelve. An inch or two, maybe, but that won't make that much of a difference, I'm telling you. It'll be fine."

Poppy looked down at her daughter, pressing her fingertips against her forehead. "_Toph,_" she began one final time, before clearing her throat. "These clothes will not fit you because you've… you're not _twelve. _You are _twenty-two. _You don't have the… the _body _of a twelve-year-old anymore. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

And the Earthbender blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. And she blushed furiously, from her cheeks to the roots of her black hair. "I… I need them, Mom," she whispered softly. "I need to wear them. Nobody ever visits me. I need them to remember me. To remember that Toph is here. I want to wear these clothes. When I have to leave them again, they'll be filled with the memories that I've made at Zuko's palace. I… _please_, can we get the tailor to…?"

Her mother sighed, placing a hand against her daughter's cheek. Things weren't as they had been ten years ago. Toph had stopped becoming so stubborn. Now, she was ready to admit when she needed something. With her free hand, she gently took the clothes from her daughter's fingers. "I'll see what she can do with these. Don't worry," she assured her, kissing her daughter's forehead. "They will remember you."

When her mother had walked out of Toph's room, she crossed her arms over her chest. "They'd better," she said, a scowl forming on her face. "I don't like being forgotten."

* * *

_To lead is not to influence others to do something they are not committed to, but rather to nurture a culture that motivates and even excites individuals to do what is required for the benefit of all._

Arthur Carmazzi

* * *

"You're in charge," Suki said firmly, straightening the armor of the Kyoshi warrior that stood before her. Leaving Kyoshi quietly was not a task easily done, especially when the person that was leaving was the head of the Kyoshi Warriors. Naturally, half the town had shown up on the docks to wave goodbye to Suki and Sokka. "Make sure to write me if anything doesn't seem to be going normally, alright?"

The woman in front of her grinned, pulling Suki into a hug. "It's okay to not be a leader _all _the time," she assured her with a smile. She pulled a length of pink ribbon from around her wrist, fastening it around Suki's instead. "You can be a girl sometimes, too. Remember that while you're on your trip, alright?"

Suki smiled – the woman in front of her had been a great addition to the team. "I will," she promised, before she was ambushed with a hug. "I'll miss you, too. Anything you want me to tell anyone?"

"Tell the Fire Lord I said hi," the woman said cheerfully, pulling away from the leader of the warriors. She hesitated, before speaking slowly and carefully. "And… if you see Mai… tell her I said hi, as well."

"We will," Sokka chimed in, his fingers lacing through Suki's. He slowly began to tug her towards the ship waiting for them. "Take care of Kyoshi, will you, Ty Lee?"

The woman bounced on her heels, swooping in to quickly hug Sokka. "I will!" She promised cheerfully, grinning as she waved a hand towards their ship. "Now you need to leave, or we'll never let you go."

The pair waved one final time, before walking the length of the dock. Sokka held Suki steady as she climbed aboard the normal-looking blue boat. Ty Lee waved goodbye as they sailed steadily towards the horizon. When they were about five hundred feet away, she yelled something in the direction of the boat.

Suki flushed, turning away from Sokka as Ty Lee's words reached her ears. Sokka wasn't quick enough to catch the woman's words. He frowned, glancing at his girlfriend. "What did she say?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, pressing a hand against Sokka's shoulder. "Nothing at all."

* * *

_By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest._

- Confucius

* * *

"Uncle, while our guests are here, make sure that security in the prison is heightened," Zuko muttered, his hair falling into his eyes as he hurried to scrawl down some orders that were to be carried out by some of his most trusted servants. There were only a few, since he wasn't stupid when it came to trust.

Especially not when attempts on his life had been made in the past months. Recklessness was a luxury that fools invested in. And he was determined to not be a fool, especially after following Ozai's rule.

"Zuko, when your friends are here… in the meeting, you will be sure to mention the events?" Iroh questioned gently. Zuko was grateful for his Uncle, but it was times like these that he tended to disagree with his guidance. He thought the attempts on his life were horribly done, obviously not part of a determined assassin. So he didn't think he really needed to concern his friends with that bit of information.

"No," he said curtly, ink splattering onto his wrist as he hurried to continue his list making. "They don't need to be concerned over something as trivial as that."

"Someone worked a porcupine-snake into your bowl of rice," Iroh said, his voice becoming less gentle. "I wouldn't call that trivial. Someone is on the inside, Zuko. Someone here in the palace. You can't ignore these things. If you do, you won't be alive to ignore them for long."

Zuko sighed, pressing his knuckles against his forehead in exasperation. Dark circles seemed to find a permanent home beneath his eyes these days, as he spent his nights tossing and turning with the plans of tomorrow refusing to rest. "It will be fine."

Iroh stood, pausing at the doorway. "I certainly hope so," he whispered quietly.

* * *

Some point of views are shorter than others, simply because they don't have a lot going on at this point of the story. Sorry about that. It'll all balance out eventually, when everyone's story needs to be told.


End file.
